Gone But Not Forgotten
by Rockin'ItMeStyle
Summary: "Fred wasn't just a prankster. And anyone who really knew him would know that he was an awesome brother, a good son, and a loyal friend."


Everything seemed as though it were moving in slow motion. Usually, when things go this way, it means that something bad was going to happen to you, usually in the form of an injury. But I wasn't the one being hurt. I watched in frozen terror as the falling wall collapsed over top of my brother, obscuring him from my view. I heard the broken cries from Percy, but I couldn't make myself move.

Surely the wall couldn't have hurt him so much to kill him. Maybe it hadn't hit him directly.

"George?"

I could barely hear them calling my name. How bad was it? Was Fred really dead? I felt numb.

"George, are you okay?"

I turned to face someone. Her tear streaked face showed me she was one of us, but I couldn't put a name to the face. She looked familiar.

"I—I—"

"He's gone," She whispered, turning her head to glance back at the mess. She turned back to look at me and reached for my hand, but I flinched away. She looked hurt but I almost didn't care.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. She tried to take my hand again, but I continued to back up. I couldn't take it. There was something coming over me that I had never felt before. I think someone would have described it as guilt.

"I can't…" I shook my head and turned on my heel and made a run for it. I didn't know where I was going exactly, but I needed to be far away from where I was. He couldn't be dead, not my brother… it was impossible. He was a solid person, I had always relied on him. If he was gone, then part of me was gone, too.

I collapsed someplace dark. I could still hear the war going on, but it was distant in my ears. Nothing seemed to matter anymore… how could I function?

For as long as I can remember, Fred and I had done everything together. We had been placed in the same house; we had gotten the same classes, and reeked havoc in school together. And then we had finally bust out of school together, turning the place upside down in the process.

_George, I think we've outgrown a full-time education. _When we had left Hogwarts, we had caused Umbridge a lot of trouble, and even in the process had asked Peeves to finish causing Hell for as long as she stayed there. Peeves never listened to anybody, but because we were much like him, he had a certain respect for us.

_You don't want to bottle up your anger like that, Harry, let it all out. There might be a couple people fifty miles away who didn't hear you. _Fred had taken a special liking to teasing Harry, especially in his second year, when everyone thought he was the Slytherin heir. It was pretty funny, and even I had partaken. Also, Harry has a large temper, so Fred loved making him angry and then making fun of him about it.

_Well, he can do it if he thinks no one is watching him. So all we have to do is ask the crowd to turn their backs and talk among themselves every time the Quaffle goes up on his end Saturday. _Ron was our brother as well, but it's a brother thing to make fun of each other. Fred had always thought Ron had outrageous reactions, and he loved picking on his Quidditch skills.

_Yeah, someone might slip dragon dung in it again, eh, Perce? _Percy had always been the soft spot in the family. Ever since a few years back when he started to work at the Ministry, he held a special disdain for our choice in friends, especially with Ron being friends with Harry. Fred loathed him for it, but right before the war, Percy showed who he really was.

Fred had spent his last moments with Percy, who had made one joke and could finally be called a Weasley before he had been crushed to death.

I could no longer hear the war. I still heard shouting, but they weren't angry or upset. They were joyous.

"George!"

I looked up, with bleary eyes, and saw Ginny running towards me. "George, we won! The war is over!"

I felt confused, but she had said the war was over. Did that mean we were going to be okay?

"We've won," You could see the relief and happiness, but there was a layer of sadness too.

"Fred?" I croaked.

She swallowed. "Fred," She nodded.

* * *

><p>People filed in through the doors. I stood near the back, staring down at the floor. There was no music, like how they had in muggle funerals. Everyone was talking in a quiet murmur, whispering their condolences to my grieving family. No one dared to show me pity, however. They knew I didn't want it. They knew that if mine and Fred's positions were switched, that he wouldn't want it either. We weren't weak.<p>

"Will those who want to speak on behalf of the deceased please stand?"

Those who wanted to speak, stood. I was among them. I wanted to be last. I didn't entirely know why, but no one forced me to go. I stood there, my hands folded in front of me. I stared ahead, not really listening to the speeches of the people that didn't really know Fred like I did. I didn't care what they said about my brother. It didn't matter.

"George?"

I looked at Ginny. She gave me an encouraging smile and then gestured for me to go. I took a deep breath and let it out as I walked. I stepped slowly up the stairs and stood behind the podium.

"Fred was a pretty unique person," I said quietly. Everyone watched me, barely breathing, waiting to see what the brother of his dead twin would say. "He could be mean and he could be ruthless, but he could also be the most caring person you could ever meet."

"Yeah, sure, we pulled pranks on anyone, but we didn't mean any real harm. Fred always saw it as everyday could be your last, so make the best of it. And he did."

"He fought to the very end, always there to try and help someone. He would barely even let me have a round with some of the Death Eaters we had sparred with."

I took a deep breath. "If you had really known Fred like I had, you would know that he wasn't just a prankster. He was an awesome brother, a good son, and a loyal friend. And Angelina, he would have made a good husband."

Angelina choked on her sobs. George took one last glance at the closed casket and turned back to the crowd. "Fred is gone, but he will never be forgotten."


End file.
